Pirates Visit Memphis Saturday

Game 17: East Carolina (10-6, 1-2 AAC) at Memphis (11-4, 1-1 AAC)
Date \| Time	January 7, 2023 \| 2:00 p.m. ET
Location	Memphis, Tenn. \| FedEx Forum (18,400)
Game Program	Hoops Digest #4
Coverage	Stream: ESPN+ Radio: 107.9 WNCT
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Statistics	East Carolina \| Memphis \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Memphis \| The American
Record Book	East Carolina 2022-23 Record Book
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube \| #PurpleReign

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – East Carolina begins its two-game road trip on Saturday afternoon when the Pirates face off against Memphis inside FedEx Forum at 2 p.m. ET.

Javon Small leads the Pirates in scoring and assists with 15.6 and 5.7 per game respectively. Brandon Johnson leads the team on the boards with 9.4 rebounds per game and is currently first in the American with seven double-doubles this season.

Last Time Out
RJ Felton and Brandon Johnson each scored 16 points but East Carolina fell 64-61 to UCF on Wednesday night at Williams Arena in Minges Coliseum. Ezra Ausar added 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting for the Pirates who dropped their second straight home game. The Pirates once again dropped a close fought conference contest that could have had a different outcome had the Pirates converted on a few more free throws. ECU has missed 24 total free throws in its two conference losses and lost those contests by two and three points.

Scouting the Tigers
Memphis is coming off nearly a seven-day break with the Tigers last contest being a 96-89 loss on the road to Tulane. Kendric Davis led the Tigers with 31 points, 14 of which came at the free throw line. DeAndre Williams added a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Kendric Davis leads the Tigers and the American in scoring at 20.4 points per game and was recently named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List. Davis' 101 made free throws leads all of Division I this season. Memphis is the lone team in the American with an undefeated record at home as the Tigers currently hold a 7-0 mark at FedEx Forum.

Series History
The Pirates and Tigers have a long history as both teams were members of Conference USA before running into one another again as members of The American. Memphis leads the all-time series 24-5 and holds a 4-10 record over ECU since both schools started competing in the AAC. The last meeting was on Jan. 27, 2022, a 71-54 Memphis win.

On This Date
ECU is 8-8 in games played on Jan. 7 since the 1960-61 season. The last time the Pirates played on this date was a 62-59 win over South Florida in 2020 at Minges Coliseum.

Up Next
East Carolina concludes its two-game road trip on Wednesday night at Cincinnati on ESPNU at 9 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ezra Ausar

RJ Felton

Brandon Johnson

Javon Small

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